| GOVERNMENT OF INDIA |
| MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE |
| LOK SABHA |
| UNSTARRED | QUESTION NO: | 675 |
| ANSWERED ON: | 06.02.2019 |
| Judge Population Ratio |
| RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE |
| BHARTRUHARI MAHTABSANJAY SHAMRAO DHOTRE |
| Will the Minister of | LAW AND JUSTICE | be pleased to state:- |
| (a) whether it is a fact that the Judge Population Ratio has deteriorated in the country during each of the last three years and the current year, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; (b) whether there is a huge gap between sanctioned and actual strength of Judges in Supreme Court, High Courts and Subordinate Courts of the country, if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise along with its impact on the functioning of the judiciary in the country; (c) the number of Judges appointed in the said courts during the said period, State/ UT-wise; and (d) the steps taken by the Government to improve the Judge Population Ratio in the country? ANSWERANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS (SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY) (a) to (d): Based on the population as per Census 2011 and as per available information regarding sanctioned strength of Judges in Supreme Court, High Courts and District & Subordinate Courts in the year 2018, the judge – population ratio in the country works out to be 19.78 Judges per million population in comparison to 17.48 Judges per million population in the year 2014. The sanctioned strength of Judges of High Courts has increased from 906 judges in June 2014 to 1079 judges in December, 2018 and the sanctioned strength of Judges of District / Subordinate Courts has increased from 20,214 in the year 2014 to 22,833 in the year 2018. The sanctioned strength of Judges in Supreme Court is 31. The High Court – wise details of sanctioned / working strength and vacancies of Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts are given in a Statement at Annexure – I. The State / UT-wise details of sanctioned / working strength and vacancies of Judges in District and Subordinate Courts are given in a Statement at Annexure – II. As per the Constitution, the selection and appointment of judges in subordinate courts is the responsibility of State Governments and the High Courts concerned. As per information made available by the High Courts and respective State Governments, sanctioned strength of Judges of District / Subordinate Courts has increased from 20,214 in the year 2014 to 22,833 in the year 2018. The working strength of Judges of District and Subordinate Courts is increased from 15,634 in the year 2014 to 17,701 in the year 2018. The State / UT-wise details of sanctioned / working strength of Judges of District / Subordinate Courts in the years 2014 and 2018 are given in a Statement at Annexure-III. The appointment of Judges and Judicial Officers in the District and Subordinate Courts falls within the domain of the High Courts and State Governments concerned in which the Central Government has no role. However, in order to facilitate regular filling up of these vacancies in a smooth and time-bound manner, the Department of Justice vide its letter dated 28th April, 2017 suggested certain options to the Hon’ble Supreme Court for creation of a Central Selection Mechanism. The Hon’ble Supreme Court suo motu converted the Government’s suggestions into a writ petition on 09th May, 2017 and directed all State Governments (including Union Territories) to file their responses and suggestions by way of affidavits. The above matter is subjudice at present. *************** Annexure-I Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.675 for reply on 06.02.2019 Statement showing the approved strength, working strength and vacancies of Judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts as on 31.01.2019. Sl. No. Name of the Court Approved Strength Working Strength Vacancies as per Approved Strength A. Supreme Court of India 31 28 03 B. High Court 1 Allahabad 160 108 52 2 Andhra Pradesh 37 13 24 3 Bombay 94 70 24 4 Calcutta 72 36 36 5 Chhattisgarh 22 15 07 6 Delhi 60 38 22 7 Gauhati 24 20 04 8 Gujarat 52 28 24 9 Himachal Pradesh 13 08 05 10 Jammu & Kashmir 17 09 08 11 Jharkhand 25 18 07 12 Karnataka 62 31 31 13 Kerala 47 37 10 14 Madhya Pradesh 53 34 19 15 Madras 75 60 15 16 Manipur 05 03 02 17 Meghalaya 04 03 01 18 Orissa 27 15 12 19 Patna 53 27 26 20 Punjab& Haryana 85 53 32 21 Rajasthan 50 25 25 22 Sikkim 03 03 0 23 Telengana 24 13 11 24 Tripura 04 03 01 25 Uttarakhand 11 09 02 Total 1079 679 400 Annexure – II Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.675 for reply on 06.02.2019 Sanctioned Strength, Working Strength and Vacancies of Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts as on 31.12.2018. Sr. No. Name of State / UT Total Sanctioned Strength Total Working Strength Total Vacancy 1 Andaman & Nicobar Islands 11 11 0 2 Andhra Pradesh and Telangana 987 902 85 3 Arunachal Pradesh 30 25 5 4 Assam 430 356 74 5 Bihar 1845 1223 622 6 Chandigarh 30 30 0 7 Chhattisgarh 452 394 58 8 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 3 3 0 9 Daman and Diu 3 3 0 10 Delhi 758 542 216 11 Goa 50 47 3 12 Gujarat 1506 1146 360 13 Haryana 658 486 172 14 Himachal Pradesh 164 149 15 15 Jammu & Kashmir 310 224 86 16 Jharkhand 676 458 218 17 Karnataka 1307 1105 202 18 Kerala 535 467 68 19 Lakshadweep 3 3 0 20 Madhya Pradesh 1872 1430 442 21 Maharashtra 2141 1965 176 22 Manipur 55 40 15 23 Meghalaya 97 39 58 24 Mizoram 64 46 18 25 Nagaland 33 26 7 26 Orissa 912 748 164 27 Puducherry 26 12 14 28 Punjab 675 527 148 29 Rajasthan 1372 1101 271 30 Sikkim 23 19 4 31 Tamilnadu 1159 896 263 32 Tripura 115 75 40 33 Uttar Pradesh 3225 2017 1208 34 Uttarakhand 293 230 63 35 West Bengal 1013 956 57 Total 22,833 17,701 5,132 *************** Annexure-III Statement referred to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.675 for reply on 06.02.2019 State-UT wise comparative Statement of Sanctioned / Working Strength of Judges in District and Subordinate Courts in the years 2014 and 2018. Sl. No States Sanctioned Strength as on 31.12.2014 Sanctioned Strength as on 31.12.2018 Working Strength as on 31.12.2014 Working Strength as on 31.12.2018 1 Andhra Pradesh & Telangana 1034 987 884 902 2 Arunachal Pradesh 16 30 15 25 3 Assam 403 430 312 356 4 Bihar 1670 1845 1027 1223 5 Chhattisgarh 354 452 302 394 6 Goa 52 50 40 47 7 Gujarat 1963 1506 1216 1146 8 Haryana 644 658 485 486 9 Himachal Pradesh 146 164 128 149 10 Jammu & Kashmir 244 310 221 224 11 Jharkhand 578 676 382 458 12 Karnataka 1085 1307 832 1105 13 Kerala & Lakshadweep 447 538 431 470 14 Madhya Pradesh 1460 1872 1243 1430 15 Maharashtra 2072 2141 1784 1965 16 Manipur 40 55 30 40 17 Meghalaya 55 97 30 39 18 Mizoram 67 64 31 46 19 Nagaland 27 33 25 26 20 Orissa 690 912 569 748 21 Punjab 672 675 505 527 22 Rajasthan 1145 1372 831 1101 23 Sikkim 18 23 15 19 24 Tamil Nadu 997 1159 876 896 25 Tripura 104 115 78 75 26 Uttar Pradesh 2097 3225 1761 2017 27 Uttarakhand 289 293 191 230 28 West Bengal and A & N Island 994 1024 868 967 29 Chandigarh 30 30 30 30 30 D & N Haveli and Daman & Diu 7 6 6 6 31 Delhi 793 758 476 542 32 Pondicherry 21 26 10 12 Total 20,214 22,833 15,634 17,701 |
